The invention relates to a reciprocating piston machine integrated with a rotary machine of intermeshing gear configuration. More particularly, the invention concerns a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine having dual crankshafts balanced by intermeshing rotary gears, which are also utilized for positive fluid displacement.
The inventor described a reciprocating piston machine in Figliuzzi U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,169, in which the piston moves in true straightline fashion along the longitudinal axis of the cylinder to provide higher piston power efficiency and effectiveness. This piston machine utilizes a pair of oppositely rotatable crankshafts disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the cylinder, each crankshaft having an eccentric arm intersecting with the longitudinal plane of the cylinder. A translator element is disposed within the longitudinal plane of the piston cylinder, and connected to the piston. A pair of cams are respectively connected between each eccentric arm and the translator element and relatively movable of the translator element for imparting back and forth straightline motion to the translator element and thus the piston in the cylinder. A pair of oppositely rotating balance gears are respectively connected to the crankshafts and directly intermesh with one another to coincide the rotational movement of the crankshafts with one another.
In the preferred embodiment described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,169, the piston machine is an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine can be made to run as an Otto cycle, diesel cycle, or dual cycle, as known in the combustion engine art.
It is an object of the present invention to associate the internal combustion engine of U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,169 with a hydraulic pump, hydraulic motor, or air compressor or blower which, for example, performs secondary function fluid delivery roles in the operation of the overall engine machinery, and to provide this association in a compact, integrated design. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a versatile design associating a rotary fluid machine with the internal combustion engine of U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,169, such that, for example, the rotary fluid machine can be applied for use as an engine starter, a lubrication pump, or both, a blower or supercharger for the combustion cycle, or a source of pressurized working fluid for external uses, all in a compact arrangement. By virtue of the present invention, a rotary fluid motor or pump is associated with a reciprocating piston machine without requiring any additional gearing or drive transmission devices beyond the crankshaft mechanisms already being utilized for the operation of the reciprocating piston machine.